Fiji Marine Science Update
Added to website: 06 October 2005
This report comes from a recent visit made to CCC’s Fiji operations by James Comley (CCC Director of Marine Science) during August and September 2005. It is split into activities by geographic region and includes a report of a presentation given at the National Tourism Council Meeting held on the 25th of August and CCC’s third annual review held in Nadi on the 15th of September.
The various regions referred to in this report can be seen on the composite satellite image of Fiji .
Downloadable reports for each of the projects referred to are available
- Mamanucas Report
- 3.2 MB, require adobe reader
- Yasawas Report
- 10.1 MB, require adobe reader
- Coral Coast
- 3 MB, require adobe reader
Mamanucas
Survey progress in the Southern Mamanuca Islands is now nearing completion with a comprehensive baseline data set having been acquired. Out of this dataset, the third and final set of recommendations for suitable sites for Marine Protected Area declaration have been made. In combined area, these sites account for 20.3km2 or 22.5% of the coral reef area of the Southern Mamanucas; a figure in line with the 20-25% protection status current scientific thinking believes to be appropriate for long-term sustainability of coral reef ecosystems.
Through a series of community meetings with the local management decision makers, this final set of recommendations for the southern Mamanucas have been disseminated using novel Geographic Information System resources. Our main partner in the Mamanuca work programme, the Mamanuca Environment Society are now presenting these findings in a formal manner at the forthcoming Malaolo Takina meeting scheduled for November when the King of the area is expected to pronounce these areas as effectively managed under the customary resource protection status afforded by Fijian cultural systems.
The Mamanucas as a key site for tourism development in Fiji, accounting for some 75% of all tourism revenue generated Nationally has however been undergoing an impact from macroalgal blooms in recent years. These blooms of algae manifest themselves as extensive beds of detached algae that are washed up onto the shoreline of the Islands of the archipelago. Whilst assumed not to be solely a natural phenomenon, the source and cause of the enhanced biomass of what are a selected few types of algae are not at present understood and therefore cannot be mitigated against. One of the more probable causes of this condition is elevated nutrient levels present in the area, however, the source of these nutrients is, in turn, not understood. Therefore, CCC and the Mamanuca Environment Society have developed a proposal for a comprehensive study examining the level of nutrients (nitrates, nitrites, phosphates and ammonia derivative compounds) in the entire Nadi Bay region. View the nutrient study map.
Using GIS techniques, the results of this comprehensive study will be analysed geographically to identify any sources of elevated nutrient levels in the Mamanucas. To illustrate anticipated outputs, a computer simulated data set based on random data has been produced. View the nutrient study example output map
This study has the support of the Government of the Fiji Islands and will form part of a tourism carrying capacity study they are shortly to begin the Nadi Bay region. There is also Government will behind the study that if it is shown that nutrients are entering the Nadi Bay region from outside sources, including for example the mainland of Viti Levu, they will bring inter-agency pressure to bear to mitigate the impact of this development on the coral reef ecosystem of the Mamanucas and the economically important industries it supports.
Additionally, all members of the Mamanuca Fiji Hoteliers Association represented through their membership of the Mamanuca Environment Society believe that this study and its findings, once undertaken should be taken as a comprehensive data source from which additional steps towards impact mitigation can be made.
This study represents one facet of CCCs continued commitment and role within the Southern Mamanucas. Funding is now being sought to convert CCCs base of operations on Castaway Island into a head office and operations centre for the Mamanuca Environment Society. CCC will ensure a continued involvement through the provision of manpower to this base to assist MES in bespoke activities. Examples of these planned activities include increased community capacity building, one-off studies such as the nutrient study and a comprehensive monitoring programme to assess the effectiveness of the Marine Protected Areas once they have been established in a programme that will ensure that scientifically the efficiency of these management steps can be evaluated.
In terms of the continued collection of baseline data in the Mamanucas for the provision of management recommendations, CCCs focus of activities has now been extended to the northern Mamanucas with an initially small presence having been established at a satellite site on Tokoriki Island based at the Tokoriki Island Resort. In the medium to longer term, it is anticipated that this base will evolve from a satellite base into a more permanent presence thanks to the support of Tokoriki Island Resort and all of the stakeholders in the Northern Mamanucas.
Coral Coast
CCCs work programme on the Coral Coast region of mainland Viti Levu was conducted between July 2004 and April 2005. In this time, the backreef resources of approximately 65 kilometres of coastline were assessed for over 50 variables of coral reef community components including the benthic community, fish and invertebrate populations. Using novel GIS techniques, a series of posters have been produced in English and Fijian with assistance from the University of the South Pacific and PADI Project Aware Asia Pacific. Using these posters as a resource for disseminating the data collected back to the local communities and management decision makers is now the next step in the programme and CCCs Project Scientist is now in the process of presenting the data from the relevant area to each of the communities in the region. Already using this data set as a resource a number of Marine Protected Areas have been established with others being altered in terms of their size and location to maximise the benefit accrued by local communities of their investment in resource management.
Kadavu
A detailed history to CCC’s involvement in Kadavu can be found on our website. As a result of meetings conducted during the recent visit to Fiji, CCC has now committed to continued support of what is a very worthwhile community based conservation initiative and will remain in this programme until at least the end of 2005.
In this time period, CCC will be assisting the Kadavu Qoliqoli Management Support Team in undertaking a series of surveys assessing the success of community based Marine Protected Areas as well as fulfilling the criteria necessary for iqoliqoli baseline surveys for the Department of Fisheries of the Fijian Government. To date, five iqoliqolis have surveyed in this manner (borders shown in yellow in the satellite image) with approximately twenty remaining (bordered in red).
Savusavu
The coastline between the Provincial capital of Vanua Levu (Savusavu) and the southeast tip of Vanua Levu is within the Caukadrove Province. The Government of the Fiji Islands has earmarked this region as a Tourism Development Area and it is anticipated that infrastructure developments, when in place, will support a mature tourism industry along this stretch of coastline. As a result of this anticipated development, both the Provincial Council and the Ministry of Tourism have requested that CCC undertake a period of comprehensive baseline data collection towards the establishment of a management plan for the region.
The coral reefs of the Savusavu region are similar in structure to those of the Coral Coast with an extensive backreef region that in places is over a kilometre wide before the wave break, reef crest and reef slope dropping down into deeper water. As one of the most heavily affected areas of the coral reef would be the backreef zone, it is essential that a data set for this region of the reef be collected. Accordingly, in early November 2005, CCC will be establishing a small presence in the Savusavu region to undertake a comprehensive assessment of the coral reef resources of the backreef region.
In early 2006, CCC will then be shifting some of its resources in terms of both equipment and personnel into the region to begin undertaking surveys on the outer reef slope and reef crest. This operation will be very mobile in nature and will move along the coastline from a tented base in staggered intervals to cover the approximately 65 kilometres of coastline.
Educational Posters
Sponsored by the Small Grants Programme through the British High Commission, Fiji, CCC has recently produced one thousand educational posters for distribution in Fiji.
Copies of this poster are now in all resorts and tour operations in the Mamanuca Islands, many of the resorts on the Coral Coast and in villages in CCCs project locations.
National Tourism Council meeting
On the 25th of August, CCC was invited by the Minister of Tourism to present an overview of its activities to date in Fiji to the National Tourism Council. The NTC committee has representatives from all Government Agencies involved in the tourism industry in Fiji, including the Public Works Department in charge of infrastructure, the Ministry of Fijian Affairs, Department of Fisheries and the Department of Environment. Prominent representatives from the tourism industry are also represented through the Fiji Hoteliers Assocation and national and regional tourism associations.
In addition to a brief of CCCs work in Fiji, the presentation given also outlined the role of these agencies involved in the tourism industry in the conservation of the coral reef and natural resources upon which much of the industry is based.
Annual Review Presentation
As a culmination of CCCs third year of work in Fiji, the Annual Review presentation was held on the 15th of September. This review represents a forum at which all stakeholders involved in CCCs activities can be briefed on CCCs work in the previous year as well as plans for the forthcoming year. The review was attended by 55 individuals from Government Agencies, other NGOs and Academic Institutes representing all geographic areas CCC has worked in in addition to areas such as Savusavu where CCC will be working.
- View the presentation given by CCC at the review
- 3.4 MB, require adobe reader
As a result of the review, there was a lot of media interest in CCCs work and articles on our programmes appeared in all national newspapers in the following week as well as an interview involving CCC personnel and the Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Tourism on Fiji’s national television channel- Fiji One.
